My Nonprofit Reviews

Ratan

I first met the MAD group as a trainer- I did two years of teacher training and now, I have stayed on with them as a friend and possible resource person.
When we first met in 2007, the group was looking for 'process-training'- how to teach the children in the orphanages so that it was different from school, fun, yet meaningful. In the past two years, they have moved towards working with EZ Vidya and developing a 'syllabus' and several other guides and support materials so that the young volunteers (average age: 19-22) can feel confident about teaching the children. Monitoring of volunteers, training, sharing experiences, blogging- all these are part of the MAD approach.
Commitment from these youngsters (who could as easily find a million other things to do during the weekends) is what has kept the concept of teaching the less fortunate children alive. MAD now has a presence in several cities apart from Cochin, where it all began. And the results are there to see: happy children in the orphanages who enjoy the company of their weekend teachers, improved academic results and managements/committees who now request MAD volunteers to work with their children. I think that MAD has made great strides in doing what they set out to: giving the children in the orphanages a life by giving them competence in English.
Ratan Gopinath
Bangalore